William Hutton & Sons

William Hutton & Sons – were manufacturing silversmiths founded in 1800 in Birmingham transferring to Sheffield in 1832.

William Hutton established the firm and with the move to Sheffield where they also became platers having licensed the electroplating technique from Elkingtons. This gave them much early success.

William’s son William Carr Hutton continued the business on after his father’s death using the same business name until 1864 when it was changed to William Hutton & Son when William Carr’s own son (Herbert Hutton) joined him. When William Carr died in 1865, the firm name was again changed to William Hutton & Sons when Herbert’s brothers joined him (James and Robert).

They opened a London showroom in Holborn in 1863 which then moved to Farringdon Road in 1891 operating until 1918.

Huttons developed a new nickel alloy that was good for plating in the late 1800s and it became known as British Plate. They sent their machine-made silver flatware from Sheffield to be hallmarked in London.

They acquired Rupert Favell & Co in 1893 and also registered as a limited company as William Hutton & Sons Ltd. In 1902 they bought Creswick & Co. and started to use their crossed arrows mark.

They became renowned for the quality of their Arts & Crafts silverware items at the turn of the 19th/20th century.

They were taken over by James Dixon & Sons in 1930.